In a statement issued Saturday morning, Monford said: “I have made the difficult decision to leave PCC to pursue other career opportunities. Being part of PCC has been a very rewarding experience and I am fortunate to have been part of the co-op community.”
PCC offered no additional details regarding the reason for Monford’s departure, and will begin looking for a replacement immediately.
Monford joined PCCin December 2020, bringing over 30 years of experience in the grocery and restaurant industries, with posts at The Kroger Company, H-E-B Central Market, and Andronico’s Community Markets. TheTimesnotes that her tenure at PCC was marked by challenges and controversy, starting with around $4 million in pandemic-related expenses. Those expenses led, in February, to Monford writing to Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan to oppose the City Council’s proposal for $4-an-hour hazard pay, in a letter in which she stated: “Unlike large corporate grocers who saw a large sustained uptick in sales nationwide, we have not had a sustained increase in sales and do not have a national footprint to rely on to offset these costs nor the cost of doing business in Seattle.”
Aspreviously reported, the co-op’s grocery sales totaled $383.2 million in 2020, a 26.1% growth over the prior year. Membership went from 70,000 in 2019 to more than 95,000 today, theTimesreports. Part of this growth is attributed to a new member benefit program thatPCC reporteddrew in more members in the past year than in the decade prior, for a 35% increase in membership.
Related: PCC Eliminating the Sale of 100k Single-Use Plastic Bottles Yearly PCC Introduces Shared Values Meal Program Health Wright Products Makes $1m Promise to Employees
The impact of this can be seen in the company’s most recent Board election. TheSouth Seattle Emerald reported back in May that Laurae McIntyre and Donna Rasmussen became the first PCC workers to reach the Board in 15 years, thanks entirely to high voter turnout—McIntyre and Rasmussen were not endorsed by PCC, and had to gather signatures from 2% of members to make the ballot; according to their union, UFCW21, the co-op reacted to signature gathering efforts outside stores with calls to police, although PCC has denied this. PCC also omitted both candidates from online voter guides that were emailed to all members, as well as informational posters in PCC stores and PCC’s annual membership meeting, where other candidates had the opportunity to promote the platforms.TheTimesnotes that McIntyre and Rasmussen ran in part due to the rising corporate sensibility represented by Monford: McIntyre told theTimesthat “it’s not much different than walking into any other grocery store in a chain.” One of the incumbents unseated by McIntyre and Rasmussen: Brad Brown, a retired REI executive who served as interim CEO before Monford took the position in December, and will again hold the position of interim CEO while PCC searches for a permanent replacement to fill the vacated spot.
